Chef Juliette
John Dory (St. Pierre)
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Poulets Sautés
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1532, Poulets Sautés, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
The master sauté for poultry: jointed chicken coloured hard in clarified butter, cooked piece by piece to tenderness, then reunited with a pan sauce made from every bronze trace of fond.
Main Dishes
French
Weeknight
Quick Meal
One Pot
20 min
Active Time
40 min cook•1 hr total
Yield4 servings
Poulets Sautés (sautéed chicken) is the master method beneath a whole family of garnished chicken sautés: colour a jointed bird in clarified butter, finish each piece only until tender, then déglacer the pan, dissolving the fond with liquid. The one true thing is this: the bronze film on the pan floor is not debris. It is the sauce, so brown boldly without letting it turn black. C'est la même grammaire.
The source entry assumed a medium, fleshy chicken à la Reine, eviscerated and jointed at the stove, a stockpot never off the fire, and a saucier ready with whatever sauce the later variation required. It called for no salamander. At home, one tender market chicken, a broad lidded skillet, and good gelatin-rich stock do the work. Because this master entry cites no supplementary sauce, the standalone version stops with stock reduced over the fond and a little cold butter for the body a service stock would have supplied. No absent formula is invented. One cook, one stove, one evening.
The exact service jointing, feet, claws, and covered entrée dish were brigade scaffolding, so they can go. The back and wingtips enrich the reduction instead of forming a bony layer beneath the meat. Hard colouring, staggered removal of the tender pieces, swilling the pan, and reducing the liquor are the dish itself, and they stay. Watch the fond while the chicken colours: chestnut brown and roasted-smelling is right; bitter-black is too far.
Poulets Sautés belong to the cuisine bourgeoise and the classical service kitchens of Paris, although the method became national rather than the property of one region. Household cooks and staffed kitchens shared the same sequence, while the latter multiplied it into garnished variations by adding prepared sauces after the pan was swilled. The term chicken à la Reine names a medium, fleshy, tender class of bird suited to quick cooking, not a royal garnish; likewise, Sauté here means browned in a pan and finished under cover, not continuously tossed over fierce heat.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
whole tender chicken
Quantity
1 (3¾ to 4 pounds / 1.7 to 1.8 kilograms)
cut into 8 bone-in pieces, with the back and wingtips reserved
fine sea salt
Quantity
1½ teaspoons (7.5 ml / 9 g)
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g)
clarified butter
Quantity
4 tablespoons (60 ml / 56 g)
unsalted gelatin-rich chicken stock
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 240 g)
divided
cold unsalted butter
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g)
cut into small pieces
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| whole tender chickencut into 8 bone-in pieces, with the back and wingtips reserved | 1 (3¾ to 4 pounds / 1.7 to 1.8 kilograms) |
| fine sea salt | 1½ teaspoons (7.5 ml / 9 g) |
| freshly ground black pepper | ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g) |
| clarified butter | 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 56 g) |
| unsalted gelatin-rich chicken stockdivided | 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) |
| cold unsalted buttercut into small pieces | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •12-inch (30 cm) heavy oven-safe sauté pan with a tight-fitting lid
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Kitchen shears and a boning knife if jointing the chicken at home
- •Wooden spoon or flat-edged spatula for dissolving the fond
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the chicken
Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Separate the chicken into breasts, wings, thighs, and drumsticks, or ask the butcher to do it, keeping the back and wingtips for the sauce. Pat every surface thoroughly dry, then season the pieces moderately with the salt and pepper. Wet skin steams against the pan instead of colouring, so take the drying seriously.
- 2
Colour the pieces
Heat 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) of the clarified butter in a 12-inch (30 cm) oven-safe sauté pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Keep the remaining tablespoon nearby. Add the back, wingtips, thighs, and drumsticks, then the breasts and wings as space permits, working in two batches if the pieces cannot sit without touching. Colour them quickly and evenly, beginning skin-side down, until every piece is a strong burnished gold. Turn only when the meat releases cleanly from the pan. If the fond races from chestnut toward black, lift out the chicken and add 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) of the measured stock to dissolve the still-brown portion into a cup. Wipe away the black specks, dry the pan, and continue with the reserved clarified butter. Return the rescued liquid during deglazing. Truly black fond is bitter, so discard it rather than building the sauce upon it.
A broad pan matters more than an expensive bird. Crowded chicken releases water, and water prevents the quick, even colour this Sauté requires. - 3
Finish under cover
Return all the chicken pieces and browned trimmings to the pan in a single layer, cover tightly, and place the pan in the oven. After 8 minutes, begin testing the breasts and wings; transfer each to a warm plate as soon as its thickest part reaches 165°F (74°C). Continue cooking the thighs and drumsticks for 7 to 10 minutes longer, until they reach about 175°F (79°C) and feel tender beside the bone. Removing the pieces in stages is not fuss. It keeps the breast succulent while the firmer legs finish.
- 4
Swill the fond
Move all the edible chicken to the warm plate, keeping the back and wingtips beside the pan. Pour the cooking fat into a heatproof bowl, never down the sink, while leaving every brown trace attached to the pan. Reserve 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) of the stock, then set the pan over medium-high heat and déglacer with the rest, scraping firmly with a wooden spoon until the fond dissolves. Return any rescued browning liquid and add the back and wingtips. Simmer until the stock is reduced by about half and tastes concentrated, 5 to 8 minutes, then remove and discard the bony trimmings.
- 5
Reduce and reunite
Return the thighs and drumsticks to the reduced sauce and turn them at a bare simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. If the sauce is still watery, remove the chicken and reduce the liquid alone; boiling cooked meat merely hardens it. Add the breasts and wings, then take the pan completely off the heat. Swirl in the cold butter until the sauce becomes glossy and lightly coats the pieces. If it looks greasy or separates, lift out the chicken and whisk in a teaspoon of the reserved cold stock. Ça se rattrape. Add more reserved stock only if the sauce has tightened too far.
- 6
Arrange and serve
Settle the thighs and drumsticks toward the bottom and centre of the pan, with the breasts and wings above them, then spoon the small quantity of concentrated sauce over every piece. Bring the sauté pan directly to the table on a sturdy trivet. This is not a chicken swimming in gravy; the sauce should cling, gleam, and gather in a shallow pool beneath it. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose a tender chicken of moderate size, about 3¾ to 4 pounds (1.7 to 1.8 kilograms). A very large roasting bird needs longer cooking, which works against the quick Sauté method and makes the timing between breast and leg awkward.
- •Clarified butter gives you butter flavour without the milk solids burning before the chicken colours. To obtain 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 56 g), melt about 6 tablespoons (90 ml / 85 g) unsalted butter gently, let the solids settle, and pour off the clear golden fat.
- •Use unsalted stock with enough natural gelatin to set softly when cold. The reduction contains no flour or cream, so gelatin supplies body while the final cold butter supplies gloss.
- •Serve with pommes sautées, buttered noodles, or plain rice, something quiet enough to catch the sauce. A fresh white Burgundy or a light Beaujolais suits the burnished chicken without overwhelming it.
- •Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and keep them for up to 3 days. Reheat very gently with a spoonful of stock, stopping as soon as the chicken is hot so the breast does not dry out.
Advance Preparation
- •The chicken can be jointed up to 12 hours ahead. Arrange it uncovered on a rack over a tray on the lowest refrigerator shelf; the cold air dries the skin and helps it colour cleanly.
- •Clarified butter and chicken stock can be prepared well ahead. Keep the butter refrigerated and warm it only enough to liquefy before cooking.
- •Cook the chicken close to serving time. The browned skin and butter-mounted sauce are at their best as soon as the pan reaches the table.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 310g)
Calories
610 calories
Total Fat
44 g
Saturated Fat
18 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
21 g
Cholesterol
205 mg
Sodium
1050 mg
Total Carbohydrates
0 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
0 g
Protein
54 g
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